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G-20 leaders plan to stop funding offshore coal, draft statement says

Leaders of the Group of 20 wealthy economies are preparing to pledge to stop funding foreign coal-fired plants, but are still wrangling over climate objectives that are crucial to keeping global temperatures in check, according to a draft statement for this weekend’s summit.

The 11-page document seen by Bloomberg, which is still being negotiated by diplomats in Rome ahead of the meeting, shows key deliverables have yet to be agreed. The draft, dated Thursday, refers to the “existential challenge” of climate change.

October 29, 2021 by

Growthpoint, Rubicon stress the environmental advantages of renewables in green buildings

US automotive manufacturer Tesla’s South African partner Rubicon Group and JSE-listed Growthpoint Properties have joined forces to highlight the environmental advantages of making use of renewable energy to provide some of the power requirements of buildings, such as Growthpoint’s 144 Oxford, in Rosebank. Sustainable technology company Rubicon Group brought the first Tesla Model X Performance Edition all-electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) into the country to raise renewable energy’s profile in the country, a move which the companies believe to be indicative that the combination of a high-performance car and highly-efficient green buildings “is powering greater awareness of positive ecological change”.
October 29, 2021 by

Mantashe announces well priced round five renewables projects ending long hiatus

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe finally ended a destructive near seven-year disruption to the procurement of renewable energy in South Africa, when he announced the names of 25 wind and solar preferred bidders on Thursday night. The bidders are expected to build  2 583 MW of new generating assets, and introduce these into the country’s power-stressed grid within the coming 36 months.
October 28, 2021 by

Free app enables facility managers to view LED lighting savings

A free smart device app and Web-based tool has been developed to enable anyone in South Africa to measure how much energy, cost and greenhouse-gas emissions savings will be achieved by switching to light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, while ensuring the quality of luminescence is maintained or improved. A team from State-owned South African National Energy Development Institute (Sanedi), supported by German development agency GIZ and the South African German Energy Partnership, investigated three public sites in South Africa used by government agencies or departments using the app, and each site demonstrated significant savings in energy and costs, as well as rapid payback periods of up to two years, Sanedi Renewable Energy Centre of Research and Development manager Dr Karen Surridge said on October 28.
October 28, 2021 by

Nersa to oppose Eskom’s move to have MYPD5 rejection set aside

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has notified the Gauteng division of the High Court that it will oppose Eskom’s application to have the regulator’s decision to reject the utility’s fifth multiyear price determination (MYPD5) revenue application reviewed and set aside. Eskom approached the court on October 15 after the regulator voted, on September 30, to reject Eskom’s MYPD5 submission for the three financial years from 2022/23 to 2024/25.
October 28, 2021 by

Urgent investment in energy storage needed to fully decarbonise South Africa’s electricity sector

As a potential means to transition away from fossil-fuel-based electricity generation methods and towards greater decarbonisation of its energy mix, independent system modeler Clyde Mallinson this week said South Africa needs to build energy storage solutions to bridge the gap between when renewable energy is produced and when it is not to meet daily and peak demand.

Speaking during a webinar on the system benefits of energy storage on October 27, he said South Africa’s peak hourly electricity demand was 34.1 GW, while its average hourly demand was 26.4 GW.

October 28, 2021 by

UK sees no deal coming to eliminate coal at UN climate summit

The United Nations climate talks haven’t even started and host-nation UK is already conceding that a key goal – a deal to end coal burning – is off the table.

“It will be hard to consign coal to history at Glasgow,” Barbara Woodward, the UK’s ambassador to the UN, said in an interview Wednesday, a day before she travels to Scotland for the COP26 climate conference that begins Sunday. “We’ve got to give up coal and some of the plans do not foresee that.”

October 28, 2021 by

City unveils new plans to wean itself from Eskom

The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) this week unveiled a new plan to accelerate security of reliable power supply for residents and businesses in the municipality. Headed by executive mayor Mpho Moerane, the CoJ has launched an energy mix Energy Sustainability Strategy for the municipality, through which the city seeks to increase its capacity to cater for its growing developmental needs.
October 28, 2021 by

Gas key as South Africa transitions to clean energy

Gas will be needed to close help meet energy demand in South Africa during the necessary transition to clean energy,  speakers from the energy sector, academics, financial institutions and South African government departments said during a webinar on October 27. They noted, however, that South Africa has not yet put in place the required policies and regulations, trade agreements and infrastructure needed for a just transition.
October 27, 2021 by